Roll clip

ABSTRACT

A roll clip is generally C-shaped made of a flexible material which allows the clip to snap over and hold a roll of paper or other material. In one embodiment, the clip includes feet at the open ends of the clip for resting on a surface such that the roll can be held in a partially unrolled fashion for studying the contents of blueprints or measuring and cutting of wallpaper or wrapping paper. In a preferred embodiment, the feet are rounded to facilitate snapping the clip over a paper roll.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a clip which is particularly adapted for holding a roll of paper fully rolled or partially unrolled.

[0002] When dealing with architectural drawings, engineering blueprints, rolled wallpaper, and/or wrapping paper for presents, it is desirable to either maintain the roll completely rolled up and held in a cylindrical form, which frequently is accomplished by placing a rubber band or tape around the paper rolls, or when studying blueprints or the like or when measuring wallpaper or wrapping paper for presents or the like, it is frequently desirable to partially unroll the roll which typically necessitates placing an object on the paper to keep the roll from interfering with the cutting of the paper or studying of parts of the blueprints. Objects such as paperweights or the like are frequently employed for such function, although more typically, particularly when wrapping presents, it is necessary to wrestle with the partially unrolled roll with one's elbow while crawling on the floor cutting paper to size. There exists a need, therefore, for a device and method for accommodating and handling the somewhat unruly partially unrolled paper rolls or rolls of other material, as well as allowing storage of the roll in a tubular form with the paper completely wrapped around itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention satisfies this need by providing a roll clip which is generally C-shaped made of a relatively thin flexible material which allows the clip to snap over and hold a roll of paper or other material and which, in one embodiment, includes feet at the open ends of the clip for resting on a surface such that the paper can be held in a partially unrolled position for studying the contents of blueprints or measuring and cutting of wallpaper or wrapping paper. In one embodiment of the invention, the clip is injection molded of a polymeric material, such as ABS, and is generally C-shaped with an open mouth permitting the clip to snap-fit over a roll of paper. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ends of the C-shaped clip are rounded to facilitate snapping the clip over a paper roll as well as defining feet for resting on a horizontal surface when the roll is partially unwrapped. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the clip can be made of a metal, such as stainless steel, and formed by cutting in a pattern and rolled into a desired shape.

[0004] In all embodiments, the clip material provides a pair of opposed, spring legs for compressibly gripping a roll of paper when either completely rolled or partially unrolled. The roll clips can be made in different sizes to accommodate different diameter rolls of material and in some embodiments may have tapered sides to distribute the bending forces throughout the length of the clip. Thus, the clip of the present invention provides an easily employed, convenient structure and a method of holding rolled material in either rolled form or partially unrolled form for use.

[0005] These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clip embodying the present invention;

[0007]FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

[0008]FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

[0009]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

[0011]FIG. 6 illustrates a method of use of the clip in connection with a partially unrolled roll of material;

[0012]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

[0013]FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;

[0014]FIG. 9 is a right side elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;

[0015]FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;

[0016]FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;

[0017]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the clip of the present invention;

[0018]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the clip of the present invention; and

[0019]FIG. 14 is yet a further embodiment of the clip of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] Referring initially to FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a first embodiment of the invention showing a roll clip 10 which is integrally molded of a polymeric material with the preferable material being ABS, although nylon, polyethylene, or composite polymeric materials can likewise be employed. The roll clip 10 is generally C-shaped and is integrally formed including an apex 12 at its top with a pair of integral downwardly and inwardly depending curved legs 14 and 16, each terminating in a rounded foot 15 and 17, respectively, which are in spaced relationship to define an open mouth 18 for the clip which circumscribes an arc of from about 60° to about 70°, although the mouth could be wider or narrower for different applications.

[0021] As best seen in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the legs 14 and 16 are inwardly tapered from the apex 12 to the feet 15 and 17 to uniformly distribute the bending forces on the legs of the clip when expanded for holding a roll of paper as illustrated in FIG. 6 described below. Clip 10 can be made in a variety of different diameters and sizes as, for example, a larger clip may have an internal diameter of 68 mm with a mouth opening 18 of about 30 mm and have a width “W” (FIG. 3) at the apex of about 25 mm and a thickness “T” (FIG. 2) of, for example, about 2 mm. When made of an ABS material, the clip so-formed had a compression force between legs 14 and 16 of between 2-8 newtons (“N”), with the preferred range being from 4-8 N. A medium size clip also has a width “W” of 25 mm but an internal diameter “D” of about 48 mm, resulting in an open mouth 18 having a width of approximately 25 mm. For this size, the compressive force between legs 14 and 16 was from about 6-11 N, with the preferred range being from about 8 to about 10 N. A smaller size clip may have an initial diameter “D” of about 32 mm, again having a width “W” of 25 mm and a thickness “T” of about 1.8 mm to provide a compressive force between legs 16 and 14 of from about 8 to 16 N and preferable from about 9 to 13 N for the ABS material selected. The open mouth 18 of the smaller clip had a width of approximately 20 mm for fitting over smaller rolls of material.

[0022] In each of the embodiments, the legs 14 and 16 taper inwardly as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5 to a width W₁ of about 16 mm. These representative sizes of the clips are illustrative only, it being understood that the clips can take on any desired dimensions depending upon the application for which they are employed. The polymeric clips of the first embodiment also can be extruded and cut to shape. The clips can be employed for holding a roll of materials, such as paper, vinyl, composite paper and polymeric films, blueprint materials, and the like in a completely rolled-up manner by pressing the open mouth 18 of clip over the cylindrical roll of material, spreading legs 14 and 16 against the compressive force of the C-shaped clip, and subsequently snapping the clip into place. Additionally, however, the clip can be used for holding material in a partially open position on a work surface, as illustrated in FIG. 6 now described.

[0023] In FIG. 6, there is shown a roll 20 of material, such as a blueprint, wrapping paper, wallpaper, or the like, for which it is desired to unroll an end 22 onto a work surface 24, such as a table top or floor. The clip 10 of the present invention is positioned over the roll 20 with foot 15 resting on the work surface 24 and foot 17 resting on the inner surface 21 of the unrolled end of material 20, thereby preventing roll 20 from rolling upon itself once the desired length of end 22 has been extended therefrom. Using clip 10, therefore, facilitates the process of holding web stock material in partially unrolled form, such as roll 20, with an end 22 extended for viewing, measuring, cutting, applying paste (if a wallpaper), or other functions depending on the material employed. Thus, clip 10 provides a method of holding not only a roll 20 of material in completely rolled-up form supplanting use, for example, of a rubber band or the like but also allows the partially unrolled material to be held in position for subsequent processing.

[0024] Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7-11 in which a clip 110 is made of steel, such as a stainless steel, which is cut in a preformed pattern, typically rectangular, and roll-formed to the shape best seen in the front elevational view of FIG. 8. Again, different size steel clips, such as clips 110 shown in FIGS. 7-11, can be made and have rolled, outwardly projecting, generally rounded feet 115 and 117 as in the first embodiment to facilitate not only slipping over a roll of material to be held but also to define feet for resting on a work surface, such as shown in FIG. 6.

[0025] As in the first embodiment, the metal clip 110 can be made in different sizes corresponding to the same diameters as in the first embodiment, namely, 68 mm, 48 mm, and 32 mm. The width “W” of metal clips made of stainless steel is, however, 33 mm and the material is cut in a generally rectangular shape having a length of 180 mm, 130 mm, and 81 mm, respectively, for the three different diameters. The corners of legs 115 and 117 are rounded to prevent sharp edges from tearing any roll material to which the clips are applied. Again, as in the first embodiment, clip 110 can be employed as shown in FIG. 6 for holding a roll of material 20 in either a completely rolled-up form for storage or partially extended for providing a method of processing an extended end 22 of the roll of material 20.

[0026] The clips can take on different design themes, if desired, by, for example, when used for holding Christmas wrapping paper, the polymeric clips can be colored in red, green, gold, silver, or other festive colors for a given season or application. Additionally, the clips may include indicia either embossed, printed or formed therethrough, as illustrated in FIGS. 12-14. In the embodiment shown, for example, in FIG. 12, a clip 210 with the same elements as the previous embodiments numbered with the same last two digits is made of a polymeric material, such as ABS, having a pair of radially extending slits 225 and 226 extending around the periphery of the apex 212 and extending downwardly partially along the length of legs 214 and 216 for purposes of controlling the compression force provided by legs 214 and 216. The slits 225 and 226 may also serve as a decorative addition to the clip 210.

[0027]FIG. 13 shows a clip 310 which includes an indicia such as a Christmas tree form 330 printed thereon or formed therein by embossing with a die during the molding process of the polymeric clip 13 which otherwise can be of the same construction as that defined in the first embodiment. Instead of rounded tips for feet 315 and 317, the legs can be somewhat flatter but with rounded edges to prevent catching on rolled stock material with which the clip is employed. The indicia 330 may be in the form of a Christmas tree, star, or other indicia for a given function, such as Christmas wrapping paper. If clip 310 is employed for engineering drawings, the logo of the company which employs the clip or engineering artifacts can be similarly embossed or printed on the outer surfaces 331 of the clip.

[0028]FIG. 14 shows an example of another indicia on clip 410 with indicia 430 being employed, for example, for holding wedding wrapping paper and comprising, for example, a bell, which again can be imprinted on the outer surface 431 of clip 410 embossed within the clip. In some embodiments, indicia 330 and 430 can be oriented longitudinally along the arcuate surface of the clips and formed entirely through the clips which may have a thickness greater than the first embodiment to accommodate the reduced compression force of the legs with the material removed for the indicia formed therethrough.

[0029] With each of the embodiments, a roll clip is provided for holding materials in rolled-up form or allowing the partial extension of material for processing. As can be appreciated, as a roll diameter decreases, a smaller size clip may be employed for holding the roll material in place. Thus, it may be desirable to have multiple sizes available for the user during the course of use of roll material.

[0030] It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the spring roll clip can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A roll clip comprising: a generally C-shaped member made of a flexible material, including an open mouth defined by a pair of feet at the ends of the C-shaped clip.
 2. The roll clip as defined in claim 1 wherein said feet are rounded.
 3. The roll clip as defined in claim 2 wherein said roll clip is integrally molded of a polymeric material.
 4. The roll clip as defined in claim 2 wherein said roll clip is ABS.
 5. The roll clip as defined in claim 2 wherein said roll clip is nylon.
 6. The roll clip as defined in claim 2 wherein said roll clip is polyethylene.
 7. The roll clip as defined in claim 2 wherein said roll clip is stainless steel.
 8. The roll clip as defined in claim 1 wherein said C-shaped clip includes an apex and a pair of downwardly depending legs which are tapered inwardly toward the feet.
 9. A roll clip comprising: a generally C-shaped member made of a flexible material, including an open mouth defined by a pair of feet at the ends of the C-shaped clip; and wherein said clip includes indicia on an outer surface thereof identifying the use of the clip.
 10. A roll clip comprising: a generally C-shaped member made of a flexible material, including an open mouth defined by a pair of feet at the ends of the C-shaped clip; and wherein said clip is made of a polymeric material having a predetermined color.
 11. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein said color is red.
 12. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein said color is green.
 13. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein said color is gold.
 14. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein said color is silver.
 15. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein the inner diameter of the clip is about 68 mm and applies a holding force of from about 2 to about 8 newtons.
 16. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein the inner diameter of the clip is about 48 mm and applies a holding force of from about 6 to about 11 newtons.
 17. The roll clip as defined in claim 10 wherein the inner diameter of the clip is about 32 mm and applies a holding force of from about 8 to about 16 newtons.
 18. A method of holding roll stock material in either rolled-up form or partially dispensed form comprising: dispensing an end of web stock material onto a work surface; and applying a C-shaped clip over the roll of web stock for holding the rolled web stock material in a partially unrolled position.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein said applying step includes applying a C-shaped clip having rounded feet at the ends of the clip for supporting the clip on a work surface.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the C-shaped clip applies a holding force of from about 2 to 16 newtons to the rolled web stock material. 